


Connection

by svevijah



Series: Future Starts Slow. [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Post-Endgame, kindred spirits - sort of, natasha and tony's spirit lives in lila and harley whenever they have a banter, yes it's a ctachphrase now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-10 00:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18649324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/svevijah/pseuds/svevijah
Summary: Somebody once said that the people we love become ghosts inside of us, and like this we keep them alive. Natasha Romanoff used to braid her niece’s hair every night she’d spent at the Bartons’ farmhouse in the same way Tony Stark helped his very first son figure to live the decent life his mother restlessly tried to give him and his sister after his father left them.In the days when the sun shone bright and the sky seemed as orange as ever, it was almost like their connections to these kids was what truly kept them alive – and kept their younger counterparts connected as well.





	Connection

**Author's Note:**

> mcu robbed me of any impactful iron widow or iron hawk moment, so i make up for it by making their kids be friends because they both lost someone they cared about a lot. totally platonic, lila is too young to date and clint would agree with me. hope you like it <3

Somebody once said that the people we love become ghosts inside of us, and like this we keep them alive. Natasha Romanoff used to braid her niece’s hair every night she’d spent at the Bartons’ farmhouse in the same way Tony Stark helped his very first son figure to live the decent life his mother restlessly tried to give him and his sister after his father left them.

In the days when the sun shone bright and the sky seemed as orange as ever, it was almost like their connections to these kids was what truly kept them alive – and kept their younger counterparts connected as well.

____________________

Lila’s first memory of Tony was of when she was little and her dad took him home with the others Avengers. That day she vaguely waved her at him when he called her _‘small agent’_ but truth be told she was so focused on auntie Nat finally coming home that Lila really didn’t pay any attention to the other heroes.

However, she remembers playing in the backyard and mom asking him if he could fix their tractor – something weird because she’s very much capable of doing that on her own. Then in that same moment, grandpa Nick’s shadow towered on the green grass, and she couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about.

The next day, Tony fixed her Nintendo DS and made her alarm clock talk with a nice voice.

The other time she ever heard of him, she was thirteen and her dad was sentenced to house arrest – the secret about his family displayed on all the newspapers and breaking news.

For Tony’s funeral, her dad decided to get a brand-new black suit. One that would _fit_ who he was _now_ , as he called it. Lila didn’t give much thought to his words, mostly because she believed was her dad was feeling half a soul without aunt Nat watching his back.

Lila wore one of her most sober black dresses. She loved being back, but she hated being nineteen in the body a pre-teen girl. It didn’t seem fair at all and by the way her mother’s black dresses are way cooler than hers.

Most of the people standing there to say goodbye to Tony one last time, Lila knew only by name. The way they all seemed so stoic and put together – she didn’t manage to be these things even at aunt Nat’s memorial.

After the funeral, Pepper brought a big photo book full of pictures. Lila couldn’t bring herself to look at them all without burst into tears, so she ended up signing her name in cursive and give the book to someone else. Looking to her left, a tall and lanky boy was standing alone, hand clenched in fists and jaw shut tight.

“You alright?” she asked in a whisper as she handled him book and pen.

The boy looked at her in a confused way, almost as if he was trying to recall whether he heard about her or not. “Always.” He replied casually.

As she walked, the boy’s voice called her back. “Wait! – aren’t you that girl from the Black Widow’s funeral?”

Lila gave a small nod. Being recognized as the girl from Black Widow’s funeral had almost been a natural routine these days. She only wished people wouldn’t say it in _that_ way.

“You had balls up there, uh…”

“Lila. Lila Barton.”

“Yeah, right. Hawkeye.” He said, thumb and index of his hand raising in the air to form a finger gun. “I’m Harley by the way. Keener.”

“Hi Harley Keener.” She remarked with a smile, her hand waving in the air as she turned around and came back to her parents.

____________________

The day Tony’s will was read to his relatives, Harley was called in the room as well. Tony had left him all his suits plus one that he managed to finish on time during the five years of the decimations with the help of some measurements he did the last time that Harley paid him a visit.

“Guys, can you believe this? Because I honestly can’t!” Harley exclaimed excitedly as he began flying around the room in his new suit. At his third circle, Harley swiftly took the way to the door, literally yeeting himself in the alley with Morgan and Nathaniel hanging from his arms, Peter following him by swinging around with his webs.

Lila stayed behind. Arms clutched to her chest, her face didn’t hid any of the sorrow and frustration she was feeling in seeing her friends carelessly hanging around the Stark Industries Tower, while she couldn’t even bring herself to look at it – too many memories she’d rather forget, like the way her mom and brothers vanished right before her eyes and how she couldn’t even say goodbye to her dad as she turned to dust, her bow as only tangible proof she was even there at all.

“Barton! You’re slowing us!” he yelled, his voice echoing in the empty space with the others’ giggles.

Lila sighed, her mind back to present, turned to face them and twitched her lips in a small smile. “Relax, shellhead. Not all of us can fly.”

____________________

“I’m sorry,” Harley chimed in, hand raised in the air and moving swiftly before Lila’s eyes in an annoying manner. “did I hear wrong or just agreed to what I said?”

Lila’s brown eyes widened in defeat. “I want to take it back now.”

“Nope.” He declared, tongue popping on the p. Lila rolled her eyes and put her bow back in its place. Honestly, after everything that happened, Lila never thought she’d pick up a bow in her hands ever again. Wrist bows, she could do with that – but actual bows? Having your hand tight on the grip and remember all over again how not even the _thing_ you love the most couldn’t save you from imminent danger?

Then four months after the decimation was fixed, Lila finally manged to at least look at her bow. Even touch it, although holding it still tingled open wounds she really didn’t know how to stich.

After Harley’s gentle nudges on her shoulder and her remark about peer pressure, their usual exchange of quips led to her picking up the bow absent mindedly and whispering something about mad archery skills and tremendous tricks from the circus that sure as nobody else aside her dad could do.

“Don’t get used to it, this will be the last time I’ll agree on something you said.” Lila quipped as she moved past him and walked to what was left of the porch – why did her dad keep making renovations? Would he ever stop tearing the house apart one day? Who knows.

Harley followed right after, walking backwards at her pace so that he could face her. “Join the gang, Lils.” He breathed out finally. Lila raised a brow, unfazed.

“One time is not enough to call it a come back on my career, Harley.”

“I know.” He replied defiantly, a small smirk on face. “But! If we keep going baby steps every day you could come in New York, we could be the New Avengers or something and–“

“I can’t do this now. Aunt Nat died so that I could come back. So that _you_ could come back.” She remarked, index hitting on his shoulder as she said the word you. “I’m not going to thank her by getting myself into monster fights and other dumb shit.”

Next thing that happened, Lila left him standing alone in the garden, resentment and guilt filling her eyes.

____________________

“What the hell happened to your face?” Lila asked raising an inquisitive brow at Harley.

Snorting loudly, Harley raised a middle finger, turning his face towards the sky. “As if you didn’t know, you sneaky traitor.”

“Sneaky what?” Lila squeaked, tone sounding offended. Harley moved ahead, bringing himself in a sitting position.

“Yeah, a sneaky traitor.” He repeated. “You don’t want to join the gang but ask questions about what we do to Cassie and Shuri. Why don’t you just join us?”

“Because I don’t want to! But it doesn’t mean I don’t care about what you all go through!” she let out exasperatedly. “Just – let me heal on my own terms, I’ll join your stupid boy band when I feel like.”

“Pinky promise?”

“Yeah, pinky promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> yes there are notes at the ends, too. i didn't cry writing this, which i believe is a good sign that my denial phase is fading - actually i'm still in denial but i also like the idea that nat and tony are not really dead and can be seen through the way these kids grew up and the quips they definitely heard from their respective mentor figure. my heart is calm for some reason, even tho i feel like an irl friendship between lila and harley would be a rollercoster ride lol


End file.
